


sparked up, sparked up like a book of matches

by shrdmdnssftw



Series: stop making plans, start making sense [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Making Out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-01-13
Packaged: 2017-11-25 08:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/636946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shrdmdnssftw/pseuds/shrdmdnssftw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The thing is, Louis doesn't even remember signing up for drama tutoring, let alone signing up to <i>tutor </i>other students, so when he gets a message from a random number asking <i>wen r u free </i>and <i>also this is about those drama things? </i>and <i>sorry also this is harry </i>he just stares at his phone in confusion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	sparked up, sparked up like a book of matches

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Turtles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turtles/gifts).



> For the prompt "high school au, if you want to be more specific, harry and louis get put together for a project and end up making out".
> 
> Needless to say this got away from me a bit.

The thing is, Louis doesn't even remember signing up for drama tutoring, let alone signing up to  _tutor_ other students, so when he gets a message from a random number asking _wen r u free_ and _also this is about those drama things?_ and _sorry also this is harry_ he just stares at his phone in confusion.

"Liam," he calls out across the classroom. "Liam, did I say I would help people again? Who let me say that?"

Mr Barlow glares at Louis from the teacher's desk but doesn't say anything yet, so Louis figures he's okay. Liam's not saying anything though, either too worried about getting into trouble, or too absorbed in what Zayn is saying about the progressive views of subcultural media, to respond.

He decides to reply anyway, just to see what will happen.

_this is louis. harry who? &what drama things?_

Louis stares at the whiteboard for a good ten minutes, pretends to add to his group's discussion when Mr Barlow looks over, and generally wastes his time in Media Studies while he waits for a response.

His phone beeps and Mr Barlow looks up from his textbook, tries to pinpoint the source of the noise. Louis resists pulling his phone out, waits until the coast is clear to read the message on the screen.

_harry styles. u had an ad up for drama tutoring?_

The name seems familiar in the way that Louis has only seen the kid and heard his voice a million times over during the auditions for their school plays. Louis is a little obsessed to say the least, and wonders if there's more at play here than just helping other people out.

_did I? how can help u then, harold_

_need to learn to act_

Louis pulls a face at his phone and thinks about calling the number, just to check that it's a prank. Of course, that's when Niall tugs at his sleeve, brings him back into the conversation just in time for when Mr Barlow walks past, patrolling the classroom.

"Tomlinson, that better not be a phone out in my class."

"No, sir," Louis says with a smile and he pockets his phone, writes a mental note to reply to Harry's text during lunch break.

-

Which means he obviously forgets all about it, until Zayn asks, rather slyly, how his new job venture is going.

"Job?" says Niall through a mouthful of crisps. Louis almost wants to shove him off the bench for talking while eating. Shove him with love, of course.

"Our Louis has decided to take up some little kiddies under his wing. His tutelage of the arts. His school for thespians, so to speak."

Louis looks affronted, and then remembers the texts. Opening the last one, he shoves it into Zayn's face. 

"This you mean? That I literally had no idea about until I got a message?"

"That'd be it," Zayn replies and he pops open his own packet of crisps. "Liam told me about it when we were in Media Studies."

"Did he now?" Louis asks.

Just then, Liam sits down next to Louis, and he takes it as an opportunity to twist Liam's nipple. He gets blocked at the last second, somehow managing to avoid looking in Louis' way.

"What did I say?" Liam asks. He fishes out his lunch from his bag, an apple, some carrot sticks and  _hummus._

"Zayn seems to have the impression that I'm offering drama tutoring. Along with Harry Styles."

Liam bites into his apple with gusto, chews slowly and thoroughly, then swallows before answering. "You are. You said you would when I asked you to volunteer for the program."

"Asked me when?!" Louis says. He racks his brain to see if he can remember agreeing to any sort of job, especially one he's not getting paid for.

"Last week, in Ms Minogue's lecture. We were meant to start this week but I noticed you hadn't set anything up, so I posted your number on the noticeboards." Liam has the nerve to look pleased, as if Louis should be thankful that he'll be the butt of the next slew of prank calls at their school. It's not fair,  _Louis_ is usually the one prank calling people.

"Wait," Niall says, and Louis' glad he's finally finished his sandwich now, mouth empty. "Harry  _Styles_?"

And whoops, Louis wasn't planning on letting that one slip, but apparently his mind is forgetting all sorts of things now.

"Isn't he that kid-"

"That Louis' been drooling over since last year, yeah," Zayn says, looking rather smug about it. "Isn't this an interesting turn of events."

"I'm gonna say no," Louis says, cutting off any further discussion. "I didn't sign up for this, and there's no way I can possibly talk to Styles for more than a minute, let alone a full hour of tutoring."

"Oh," Louis hears and that's when he turns around to see Harry Styles standing behind him, hand raised to tap Louis on the shoulder.

"Uh," Louis says, and he's not really sure how to recover from that. "Hi?"

"I was gonna ask if you got my last text," Harry says. "But I suppose you did. I'm gonna go now."

He turns and starts to leave, and Louis doesn't quite realise he's frozen until Liam jabs him in the side, hard. Jumping up from the table, he calls out.

"Wait, Harry, no- I-"

Harry pauses, turns to look at Louis again.

"You what?"

"I didn't mean it like that- it's just. I'm kinda shit at the whole helping people thing."

Harry pulls a face, like he doesn't believe what Louis' saying.

"No, really," Louis continues. He walks closer to Harry, encouraged when Harry doesn't back away. "I've never really done the tutoring thing before, and my mate Liam kind of signed me up for this, and I didn't expect it, and I didn't mean I can't talk to _you_ , more that I can't talk to anyone in general about drama."

Louis really aware of the fact that he's rambling, but it seems okay when Harry nods. "Okay," he says, and it's slow, like Louis knows he delivers his lines.

Louis smiles but then Harry's turning away again, walking off, and Louis' not sure what possesses him to do it, but he reaches out, grabs Harry's shoulder.

"Hey, but I'm, uh. I'm willing to try?"

"Really?" Harry says. "Even though you can't talk to anyone about drama?"

"I'll make an exception for you, Styles," says Louis with a wink.

Harry manages a laugh at that and Louis feels a sense of accomplishment.

"Okay then. I'm free this weekend, if you are?"

Louis thinks about it, tries not to miss anything this time, and figures he should be alright. "Yeah, how's Saturday sound?"

"Awesome," Harry says, and then the bell is ringing, signalling the start of afternoon classes. "Midday?"

Louis nods. "I'll text you my address, you can come over."

Smiling, Harry just nods and turns to walk to his classes. Louis jumps when Zayn claps a hand down on his shoulder.

"Phew," he says, leaning all his weight onto Louis. "Thought you almost lost him there."

"Shove off," Louis says, but it's playful. "We're gonna try tutoring on Saturday."

"More like you're gonna try get into his pants," Zayn says and he laughs at that, keeps laughing even as Louis drags them both to English class.

-

Of course, his luck being what it is, Louis wakes up bright and early on Saturday morning to the sound of his mum's singing. It's a bad sign, since she only really sings on her good days, when she's planned a day out shopping with her friends and organised for Louis to look after the girls.

His fears prove correct when she waltzes into his room, pulls his curtains apart and pulls him bodily out of his bed.

"C'mon Lou, big day ahead. I'm going out at 10, and the girls don't get picked up for dance until half three."

"Fuuuuuck," is all Louis responds and his mum gives him a disapproving look.

"Not in front of the girls," she says and Louis pulls a face.

"Lottie swears, you know."

"Not under this roof, she doesn't. No one does. You know that." She's got her hands set on her hips and Louis wonders when his mum became so intimidating in the mornings. "Now up, up. C'mon, I made you and the girls a big breakfast, so you won't have as much trouble with their lunches."

Louis takes it all back, he thinks, as he follows the wafting scent of pancakes and bacon. His mum is great.

-

He texts Harry as soon as he's eaten, watches the twins smear pancake syrup onto the plates and themselves, and hopes that the other guy doesn't mind his sisters being there.

_whoops, forgot i have to babysit._

_trying to get out of it again?_

Without emoticons, Louis' not sure whether Harry's truly pissed off or not. He assumes that he's okay.

_nope, but my sisters might b here too?_

_sounds alright with me. 12:30? so u can all hav lunch bfore i get there?_

Louis thinks it through and watches as a stray strawberry somehow manages to land in the sugar bowl. 

_nah, come at 12. lunch shud b an xperience for u._

The sound of dropped cutlery alerts Louis to the fact that they're all done eating now, Lottie with her phone out at the table too, the rest of the girls almost off their seats.

"No way," Louis says, watching as their eyes dart towards the lounge room and the telly. "Not until you all help me get this into the dishwasher."

They do so with minimal grumbling and it's so nice that Louis almost forgets to check his phone. Almost, then Lottie picks it up and checks for him.

"Who's Harry?" she asks. "And why is he 'so excited' to 'see you soon'?"

She even does the air quotes. Under his embarrassment, Louis' slightly impressed.

"Just a classmate, tutoring him for drama."

Lottie raises her eyebrows, smirks at Louis. "And does Mum know you're 'tutoring' people?"

He pushes her into the lounge room, follows her in so they're all sat in front of the telly. It's easier to keep an eye on them like this.

"It's a school project," Louis says, then turns the volume up, ignoring any further talk.

-

The doorbell rings at 12 sharp, and it's a good thing he got changed before his mum left, Louis thinks. Harry's stood at the door, looking pretty nice in a Ramones tshirt, jeans and aviators. Of course, Louis thinks Harry looks pretty nice in anything, but he's not going to say that aloud.

"Harry!" Louis says instead, and he swings the door open, welcomes him enthusiastically.

"I'll have you know I missed a friendly footy game for this," Harry says as he takes the sunglasses off, hangs them on the neckline of his shirt.

"Did you really?" Louis says, leading Harry into the kitchen-cum-dining room. "I'm flattered."

Harry laughs and the girls all turn to look at him. "Don't be, I kind of suck at playing."

Louis starts laughing too, and thinks it's nice, them laughing together. He then rethinks that thought, tells himself to pull it together, and introduces Harry to his sisters.

"Harry, Tomlinson girls, minus Mum. Tomlinsons, Harry. Don't be too weird, we need him for me to pass Minogue's class."

Fizz and the twins smile, a chorused "Hi Harry!" but Lottie - Lottie just blushes a little. Louis takes note of that, undecided of whether to be proud, or slightly weirded out.

"Anyway, Harry and I are going to practice some drama stuff, so don't disturb us unless it's urgent and you're dying."

He grabs Harry's arm and drags him up the stairs, pulling him into his room.

"' _And_ you're dying'?" Harry asks. Louis has let go of his arm and is rifling through his papers on his desk to find the improv prompt sheet that he figured they'd start with. 

"Gotta be firm," Louis says. "A-ha! Found it."

He pulls the piece of paper out from underneath his copy of _Les Mis_ with a flourish, holding it aloft to Harry.

"Not eating first, then?" says Harry, and damn it, Louis knew he forgot something.

"Did you want to? Lottie's probably helping the other girls make sandwiches, we can grab some."

"After," Harry says, and Louis smiles at that.

Harry's still stood in the middle of Louis' room and he looks to be taking in his surroundings. Louis lets him, figures it's only fair, since Louis knows an awful lot about Harry (not that he'd tell him that).

"Blink?" Harry nods at the band poster above Louis' computer desk. 

"Yeah, got into them after Niall and his brother dragged me to a show. Local band that did a whole lot of shitty covers, but got me into them at least."

Harry smiles wide at that. "Cover bands are pretty shit."

"Aren't you in one?" Louis blurts out, and Harry laughs.

"Yeah, 's how I know."

Louis cracks a smile at that, tension at having Harry in his room slowly easing out, and he gestures to his bed. "Wanna sit?"

Harry pulls a questioning face at that and Louis backtracks. "Not like that. I mean, like. You look uncomfortable standing."

"I'm good," says Harry. "So what'll we start with?"

Louis flaps the piece of paper around again. "Figured we'd start with the tough stuff, see how you do with improv and then move on from there?"

"Sounds good," Harry replies. "What's the first scenario?"

-

The first half hour progresses pretty quickly and Louis actually finds himself getting the hang of it all. Of course, it probably helps that Harry's a good student, lending his own brand of quirky humour to most of the scenes.

"Good, good," Louis says when they finish a read through of a scene from Death of A Salesman. "You've got a good grip on this. Not sure why you're here with me, actually."

Harry laughs at that, sits down next to where Louis' already lounged out on his bed. Somehow, he's ended up upside down, head hanging off the side of his mattress.

"I wanna be the very best," he says.

"Like no one ever was?" Louis asks, and Harry laughs again, loud, then covers his hand with his mouth.

Louis wants to hear him laugh more, wants to make him laugh so much that he forgets to stifle the sounds.

"Yeah, I suppose," Harry says once he's settled a bit. He pokes Louis in the side. "You're a pretty good teacher, though."

Louis pulls a face. "Thanks? I mean, I hope I'm okay."

"You're great," Harry says, and he shifts so that he's lying down next to Louis, head off the bed too. They're pressed up against one another, and Louis' glad that the blood has already rushed to his cheeks from gravity.

The drama practice has helped them both get more physically comfortable with one another and when Louis looks Harry in the eye, he's got this smile there, not obvious on his lips, but a pleased look nonetheless. It almost feels like Harry's tapping Louis hand lightly with his fingers, drumming a pattern, but that can't be right.

"Hey so," Louis starts to say and then Harry's sitting back up. Louis follows him, and then they're sat in front of each other, no longer upside down.

"Whoa, dizzy," Harry says and he throws his hands out to touch Louis shoulders.

Except maybe they're closer than Louis thinks, because then Harry's leaning in and his lips are touching Louis and this is _not_ what he expected from today.

He pulls back and Harry looks just as startled as he is, lips parted slightly as he breathes out.

"I uh-"

"You-"

They both stumble over their words and Louis thinks maybe he's gone around the twist, because nothing is quite so cliché as this. Harry looks like he's going to take it back, take back the kiss and the hesitant smile beforehand and maybe even the tutoring session, which was actually  _fun_.

So Louis does what he does best and just runs with it, ducks forward again to kiss Harry and before he can think about pulling away, Harry starts kissing him back, arms wrapping themselves around Louis body.

They kiss like that, sort of hesitant, but not in any way less passionate. Louis throws himself into the kisses, nibbles on Harry's lip and loves the way that he moans in response, lets Harry kiss him open mouthed, hot and messy and they both get so, so lost in it-

Neither of them notice when Louis' sisters open the door to his room until Daisy pipes up. "What're Louis and his friend doing?"

Louis tears himself away from Harry, barely has a moment to say, "Oh God," before Lottie slams the door shut again, all four girls giggling as they run off.

"Well, that was-" Harry says, still slightly breathless.

"Yeah, I'd say so," Louis responds. Turning to look at Harry, he smiles, and gestures at the piece of paper. "More tutoring?"

"If I get a kiss when I do things right," Harry says, and Louis smiles.

-

When Liam sits himself down at lunch on Monday, Harry's sat next to Louis, and Louis is picking at Harry's packet of M&Ms. Louis refuses to move enough to let Liam sit down next to him, so he's forced to sit between Zayn and Niall.

"Now," he says, not even lifting his head from Harry's shoulder and then Zayn and Niall are grabbing Liam's arms. They all know he could squirm out of it, no problem, but Louis thinks Liam's a nice enough guy to let Louis talk first.

"So, Liam," Louis says, finally breaking body contact with Harry to stare his mate in the eyes. "This project-tutoring thing."

"Yeah?" says Liam, sounding a little nervous now. 

"I asked Minogue about it, you know. She said she had no idea what I was talking about."

"Really now?" Liam says and he tugs at Zayn's grip, testing it.

"Said she'd never even heard of an idea, but that she enjoys my enthusiasm for her class." Louis pops another sweet into his mouth. "Liam," Louis says. "I hate that class. Minogue is one of the few reasons I tolerate it, but the topics are shit."

"I know, Louis."

"If you knew, why did you set me up for a fake project in the one class I despise?"

"Because- well-" Liam's tugged his hands out from both boys' grip, and Niall's already back to eating. "You said you liked Harry."

At the sound of his name, Harry looks up, eyes wide and a little wild.

"And?" Louis prompts, but now Harry is looking a little harried.

"He said he liked you. So I said I'd do my best to get you to talk to him."

Louis turns to look at Harry and he's blushing, smiling, ducking his head. "You told Liam you liked me?"

"I do," Harry says. "Like you. You know that."

Louis smiles wider at that. "You could've told me yourself, you know."

"Yeah," Harry says. "But then I wouldn't've gone over to your place, and our first kiss would've been somewhere unromantic."

Louis laughs. "What, like at lunch at school?"

"Exactly," Harry says, before leaning in to kiss Louis.

On the other side of the table, Liam, Niall and Zayn are trying to ignore their PDA, but Louis figures they all deserve to see the consequences of Liam's actions. Harry smiles into the kiss, like he knows what Louis is thinking, and tightens his grip on Louis' a little.

"Totally unromantic," Louis says as they pull away and Harry matches him with a smile.


End file.
